Sidelined
by Cr8zeCorbinFangirl
Summary: Akaike confronts Toshihisa about his feelings for Takumi. And Toshihisa confronts Akaike about his. It's actually a nice read - please give it a try?


The empty lunchroom was nice, a bit of a relief to anybody. A lunchroom all to oneself seemed like just one of those gifts life just sends you. So Toshihisa used it to buy lunch and then sleep.

"Toshihisa-san?" There was a gentle hand shaking his shoulder. "Toshihisa-san?" Toshihisa opened his eyes slowly. Looking up, Akaike smiled down at him.

"Oh, Akaike-kun." Toshihisa sat at attention. "Sorry, I...I was just...how long have you been there?"

"Not any longer than you've been asleep." The discipline master joked. "If you're so tired, why don't you go sleep in your room?"

Toshihisa worried over his lip. "I can't." he blushed when Akaike just kept staring at him. "Takumi...we're supposed to meet up after his date with Gii."

"Ah, I see." Akaike walked around, sitting across Toshihisa. "So you like Hayama, Toshihisa-san?"

He was pouting as he nodded. "I didn't want to. But to say 'good luck' when he's going on a date...I'm not too sure I can do that." Akaike nodded. He had raised his mug of coffee to his lip when, "Ne, Akaike-kun, do you like Gii-san?"

Akaike coughed to cover the surprise at such a question. Toshihisa blushed, shooting up and bowing to apologize. "I'm sorry! Just...forget I asked."

"It's fine. It's fine." Akaike erased the apology with a wave of his hand. He put his coffee down, leaning in across the table. "Where did you get that idea?"

Toshihisa sat back down. "It's just...you and Gi-san are such good friends and...you're always joking around, like how Gii-san is with Takumi. so I thought..and I'm sorry."

Akaike smiled. His gaze moved downward, staring into his coffee. "We met in middle school, right before Shidou. Back then, all out friendship was was purely professional – friends for the benefits of our parents' companies. But...I went through school and I've never meant anybody who cared so little and so much about his future at the same time. Gii...he didn't care what his father thought of his actions – he did what was enjoyable for him and yet, he always worked so hard for the sake of his father's company. I've never seen a contradiction so big and popular like Saki Giichi." Akaike sighed, taking one long sip from the cooling coffee. "But even in Junior High, Gii was crazy for Hayama. He would go on and on about 'the troubled violinist' he saw at his friend's concert if someone gave him the opening. Before Shidou, I actually didn't believe he was real – that Gii had exaggerated a musician he had seen. But my first year, he pointed him out, Hayama, and...I knew." Akaike took one long sip. "I knew that I'd never have a chance."

"Akaike-kun." Toshihisa was shocked; he never knew there was so much depth to the discipline master.

Akaike laughed, looking up to Toshihisa. "In simple words, Toshihisa-san, yes. I do like Gii."

Toshihisa flushed in shame, looking down at his place. Neither said anything for a long while. Suddenly, Akaike noticed Toshihisa was crying. "Toshihisa-san?"

"It's not fair. Gii's supposed to be so smart. How come he never notices. Why..." he pouted further and his voice got louder. "Why is it always him? What's so great about him, anyway? He's just rich...and good-looking...and nice, and smart, and...and...and...I'm just..." The crying had taken over and Toshihisa wasn't yelling anymore.

Akaike, well, he was quite surprised at Toshihisa's outburst. While he kept his envy of Hyama hidden beneath friendship, Toshihisa – he saw it in everything Gii did. Akaike smiled, standing. Toshihisa could only cry and that was okay. He didn't see Akaike round the table till the discipline master was turning his head upwards.

"They say whenever a door closes, somewhere a window opens." And with his hand on his chin, Akaike leaned down to kiss his surprised mouth.

The kiss was all on Akaike's side (Toshihisa was just too surprised to respnse.) It was simple, chaste, and gentle. Akaike pulled away after a few moments and gave Toshihisa one last smile before leaving the cafeteria.

Toshihisa watched him go, eyes wde to encompass of Akaike-kun's form. A tentative hand reached up his mouth, fingertips scattering those kissed lips.

Well, that certainly was a window.


End file.
